Information regarding COVID-19

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As the situation around community cases of COVID-19 become clear, our primary focus is to support the education community, while helping to keep people safe.

Please find information from NZQA relevant to your circumstances in the links below.

Secondary Schools and students

Please check our overview of the changes to NCEA and University Entrance which have been made for 2021. 

The following changes apply to all schools and students:

  • The dates for end of year NCEA and NZ Scholarship exams will be moved back by two weeks.
  • Most NCEA subjects where students prepare a portfolio instead of sitting an exam – like Design and Visual Communications – will have the due date for these portfolios pushed back by two weeks.
  • The NCEA Level 1 Mathematics Common Assessment Task (MCAT) will be delayed from 14 or 16 September for two weeks – to 28 or 30 September.
  • Schools will not have to provide portfolios from students sitting NCEA Level 1 or Level 2 Visual Arts for NZQA to verify. This also means there will be more time for students to finish their work, and for teachers to mark it.

More information about these changes is available here.

Students outside of Auckland are able to earn Learning Recognition Credits.

Students will be eligible to earn Learning Recognition Credits at a rate of 1 LRC per 5 credits achieved through assessment, up to a cap of 8 LRCs at NCEA Level 1, and 6 LRCs and Levels 2 and 3.

More information about these changes is available here.

Additional support for students in Auckland was announced on 22 September.  This means:

  • Auckland students are entitled to 1 Learning Recognition Credit (LRC) for every 4 credits they achieve through assessment in the 2021 school year, rather than 1 LRC for every 5.
  • Auckland students are eligible for up to 16 LRCs at NCEA Level 1, and 12 LRCs at levels 2 and 3.
  • The threshold for Auckland students to be awarded a Certificate Endorsement is 44 credits at Merit or Excellence level, rather than the usual 50.
  • Course Endorsements for Auckland students require 12 credits at Achieved or Merit or Excellence level in a course, rather than 14. Students still need to achieve at least 3 credits from external assessment and 3 from internal assessment (where these requirements usually apply).
  • Students in Auckland need to achieve 12 - rather than 14 - credits in each of 3 University Entrance Approved Subjects to be awarded UE. Students still need to attain NCEA Level 3 and meet literacy and numeracy requirements.

More information about these changes is available here.

Schools and kura outside of Auckland whose time in Alert Levels 3 or 4 has been compounded by other forms of significant disruption this year outside of the school’s control (such as where students have been unable to go on site due to external health or safety advice or directives) for a total of 20 or more school days in 2021, these additional changes apply:

  • For every 5 credits a student earns towards their NCEA through internal or external assessment, they are entitled to one extra Learning Recognition Credit to acknowledge the disruption to their learning.

    Students undertaking NCEA Level 1 are eligible for up to a maximum of 10 additional credits, and those at Levels 2 or 3 would be eligible for up to a maximum of 8 additional credits.
  • For Certificate Endorsements, students need at least 46 credits at Merit or Excellence level, instead of the usual 50.

    Course Endorsements require 12 credits at Achieved or Merit or Excellence level in a course, rather than 14. Students would still need to achieve at least 3 credits from external assessment and 3 from internal assessment (where these requirements usually apply).
  • Students need to achieve 12 - rather than 14 - credits in each of 3 University Entrance Approved Subjects to be awarded UE. Students would still need to attain NCEA Level 3 and meet literacy and numeracy requirements.

Information for students and whānau about Learning Recognition Credits and changes to thresholds is also available in the following languages:

More information about these changes is available here.

Advice and resources for parents and whānau, teachers and leaders can be found at the Learning from home website and Ki Te Ao Mārama, and useful information for schools and parents is also contained in the Ministry of Education’s Bulletin for School Leaders | He Pitopito Kōrero.

General information about education under each COVID-19 Alert Level can be found on the Unite Against COVID-19 website.

Tertiary providers and students

For providers who do not hold approval for online delivery, NZQA expects that - where appropriate and in the best interests of the learners - providers move to an on-line delivery.

Providers are required to notify NZQA when they are moving to online delivery during COVID-19 restrictions which prevent face-to-face delivery.

Information for tertiary providers

Tertiary staff can go on site for the purpose of collating and sending educational resources to their students who are otherwise unable to access resources remotely. This could include undertaking contactless deliveries to those students or arrange for couriers to undertake those deliveries.

A minimum number of staff should be onsite for a minimum amount of time, contact tracing systems must be in place, and physical distancing requirements must be maintained at all times. If there is more than one staff member on site, staff must wear a face covering.

Any tertiary staff undertaking deliveries will be required wear a face covering and keep physically distanced from others (two metres). There must also be no physical contact between staff and the person receiving the educational resources. Students are not permitted to pick-up educational resources from TEOs.

Emergency Funding for International Students

Information relating to PTE Annual fee payments

Inactive PTEs

Update to the 2020 Annual self-review and attestation for Code signatories

Keeping site access records

Information about English language proficiency

Quality Assurance

Private training establishments (PTEs) and student fees

 

The Ministry of Health continues to monitor the situation with regards to COVID-19. The health of students and staff is a priority and up to date health information is available at COVID-19 (Novel Coronavirus) guidance – Ministry of Health website.

If you have a particular health concern about a student or staff member, ask the student or staff member to call Healthline on 0800 358 5453 (or +64 9 358 5453 for international SIMS).

If you have any questions and enquiries relating to NZQA’s quality assurance activities or the pastoral care of students during this time, please contact us at covid19.enquiries@nzqa.govt.nz. This includes signatories to the Education (Pastoral Care of International Students) Code of Practice who may have a specific question about applying the Code.

For other information and advice please refer to the Ministry of Education website.

Information for tertiary students and trainees

Students and family members of anyone studying at a tertiary education or training organisation in New Zealand can get information about COVID-19 (Novel coronavirus) from health providers, tertiary education organisations and the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC).

  • If you are unwell, please call Healthline's dedicated COVID-19 line (free of charge) on 0800 358 5453 or call your doctor.
  • You can also contact your local District Health Board.
  • Please contact your tertiary education organisation directly for information regarding your accommodation, classes and anything relating to your study during this time.
  • For any other information that your tertiary education provider is unable to help with, please call TEC on 0800 123 797.

International students should contact their insurance provider directly for up-to-date advice on any changes to their cover as a result of COVID-19, consider their options, and take the course of action that is in their best interest.

All tertiary education organisations have been contacted with information about COVID-19 and you can find more information here.

Other useful links

 

 
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